ISO Quality Camera For Dark Theater Photo's

Z

ZDPhoenix

Gawd
Joined
Dec 7, 2008
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I'm wanting to take photo's at a weekly midnight movie, with a live floorshow.

The cast is really lacking in good, clear photo's, due to the theater being so dark. Their work is an art that really needs some great quality shots.

I really don't know that much about brands, etc. anymore. The last time I bought a camera was when 3MP was considered top of the line in the "pro-sumer" market.

So I come to the [H] in hopes of catching the eye of a Visual Guru, that may be able to point me in the right direction.

The camera absolutely has to take great shots in a low light theater.

I saw Today's Woot! deal, but wasn't sure on the quality. If I can get something better for $250 or less; I'd rather get something from Amazon, or Best Buy; since I have some credit with both places.
 
Oh, finally saw the budget at the end there. To my knowledge you aren't going to get anything with decent low-light performance in that range, but maybe some recent point-and-shoot cameras are starting to get into a decent ISO range. Just look for cameras that say they go up to ISO 12800 or higher, and look up reviews and sample images for the camera to see what the image quality looks like at higher ISO levels. Also look for ones that come with a faster lens: it should say the maximum aperture on lens is less than f/2.0. F/1.2-1.8 would be nice, but I doubt you can get a P&S with a lens like that in your price range.

What you really want for shooting in low-light situations like this is a latest-generation DSLR camera (Nikon D3200 would be my current choice) with a fast prime lens in the f/1.2-1.4 range, but the price for that package will start more in the $800-1200 range.

EDIT - ok, I clicked that link, and for that price, yeah get the woot deal! The ISO on that thing is woefully low for what you're wanting to do, but the lens on it does have a lot of reach, so it should be fun to use for outdoor nature shots etc. And it should give you a better idea what you want to look for in your next camera. For that price I'm tempted to get one just to play with.
 
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Agreed... you will no be able to find something decent in that range.

Are you looking at DSLR or P&S camera? Also if you buy used, you might have more choices.

I say a Canon S100 or Fuji X10 would be decent P&S..... upgraded P&S I would look at Canon G1 X....
 
Do you know of any photos up on the web, ie Flickr, blogs, forums of the show? It would be useful to see if we could extract the camera settings off a few good photos, and those settings could guide us to a good camera. There are exif viewers for Firefox that would be able to display the settings if the photographer didn't strip them out of the file before they uploaded them.

I'm thinking that an M4/3rds, Nikon 1, Canon G1 X, DSLR will be the best option, but maybe the stage lights are actually bright enough that a camera like that isn't needed (this is where the camera settings from some known good shots would help.) I would not buy that linked camera. I've held some of those Kodaks and they are light plastic, controls feel bad, for sure not worth the money.
 
As is noted by others, the problem is price range. The best I could find in a P&S for $250 would be a used Canon G11. Still plenty of camera if you can find one in good condition. It will of course will be outclassed by the G1X amongst other new P&S' (however the G1X is three times your price range...)

The S95 is another option. It can be had for $250 used. The S100, the latest and greatest model, is only a bit above $250 new ($360 I believe), both have excellent low light capability as well.
 
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5. Has a bright F/3.3 when fully zoomed. Starts at F/2 on the wide end. ISO is important but so is the aperture range. Here is a review from Camera Labs. ISO 800 looks alright, 1600 I wouldn't really want to use.

The Canon S100 and S95 let in less light when zoomed in, so you'd be forced to use a higher ISO with them (getting worse pictures). The S100, S95 and LX5 are mostly the same with ISO noise, so the LX5 has the benefit because it can let in more light. The Canon S100 and S95 are a lot smaller than the LX5.

I don't think any of these 3 cameras will fit your needs fully, but just wanted to throw out the best cheap option I could think of.

Edit: Buy this D80 for $260 off these forums, and then buy a used 50 F1.8 D lens with caps for $84 from KEH. I can't vouch for this forum member. Buying a used M4/3rds or and APS-C camera with a prime lens might be a good option.
 
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